Monday, February 22

Upholstered Beds

Happy Monday!A few years ago, I
decided to sell my twin-sized storage bed (similar style here) and use the money I received from that
to build a tufted, upholstered bed. I was inspired by various bloggers who "DIY-hacked"
the Ikea Fjellse bed frame and
upholstered it. In addition to the upholstering, I loved the look of a tufted headboard so I
did my research on the Googular and combined
the Ikea Fjellse upholstering instructions along with the tufted headboard
ones. Ultimately, persevering through the laborious - but worthwhile - process
(buying wood planks/foam/other items, hand-tufting, stapling, assembling,
drilling, etc. etc. etc.), I had my dream bed. Sure, there were slight imperfections,
but overall, the design and outcome was everything I had hoped for. (I actually
ended up building my sister her own tufted upholstered bed, too.) My DIY tufted
upholstered bed is still in great condition, but because my family moved, we
decided to leave the bed in a storage place. The way it was built does not
allow for it to be disassembled, so it would be rather arduous to relocate the bed to my new room (through doors, entryway, up stairs, etc. etc.).

As soon as we moved in, I
already decided I wanted an upholstered bed. Our walls are a very neutral,
light beige color, so any color of a bed would have been suitable for the color
scheme. However, I prefer to maintain a neutral look, so I had my eye on
several grey and beige beds. This time around, I still wanted some sort of
tufting in the headboard so that narrowed my choices down. I went on Wayfair in
search of my bed. I absolutely loved this one, with its deep diamond tufting
and high headboard, but it was out of my budget so I found this one. It looked
elegant and simple, with its light tufting, wingback headboard, and nailhead
trim. Also, it was under $400, aka well under my budget. I ordered it in the
color "white ivory" and it arrived in no time. (I guess Wayfair had it
in stock in a nearby location). I was absolutely elated at the rapid arrival.
Of course I did not want my empty room to remain empty for too long, so I
immediately unpacked the two boxes that contained the bed parts (one for
headboard, one for platform) and assembled the bed with alacrity. Estimated
completion time would have to have been around one hour or so. I can only
surmise that with the assistance of another person, the bed would have been built and ready-to-use in around thirty to forty-five minutes. The bed only came
with three thin wood slats and several leg supports so purchasing a box spring for stable support was imperative. Because my previous bed
did not require a box spring nor did I own a full-size mattress, I had to
order both a full-size box spring and mattress. I ordered them from Amazon... 1. I love Amazon; 2. I
have Prime, so they arrived in two days. After arrival, the box spring was assembled
within thirty minutes - super easy: align and use the provided wrench to
screw the pieces together; a power drill is recommended to bolster the top planks on. Then secure the cover to conceal the pine wood. Next up: the memory foam mattress I ordered... it was rolled up and
vacuum-sealed approximately five times. I kid you not, I had to remove about
five layers of plastic until I was able to touch the foam. Upon reaching
the last layer, I had cut through it with such care and precision (preemptively avoiding
any incisions to the foam) that I can say I am a foam-mattress-plastic-removing surgeon. :)

Following my successful procedure, I
simply had to unroll the mattress, put it on top of my box spring (which
had already been put on top of my bed's slats), and allow for it to breathe
and inflate. So... I had a breathing mattress for a few
hours. Yes, yes, a breathing mattress. I checked up on it every hour to see if
it reached its full height of 8-inches. (Me, measuring tape, measuring mattress.) After about eight hours, it only
"breathed" to 7-inches. Disappointment. I
purchased an 8-inch mattress, not a 7-inch one. Perhaps I placed too high of an
expectation for my mattress. I let it go, let it be and slept on it that night. Sheer
comfort. I slept like a baby regardless of the loss of one inch of mattress
height. (Now the mattress is 8-inches high. In hindsight, my mattress definitely deserved more
time to breathe. It had experienced torturous suffocation by layers upon layers
of vacuum-sealed plastic for who knows how long; how could I not have been more sympathetic towards it? (If only... *sigh*... but moving on...)

The tufted upholstered
platform bed, the covered box-spring, and the
oh-so-comfortable-and-full-height-of-eight-inches-yay-big-smiles foam mattress are now a
harmonious trio in which I am delighted to call my oasis. Other than serving
its original purpose of being a place to sleep, it is also my go-to place to
read, blog, listen to music, and just vegetate. I, sadly, said goodbye
to my twin-sized DIY bed, but I have now upgraded to a full-sized not-DIY
one and could not be more happy and pleased with the change. ("[We] do not change; [beds] change." - Henry David Thoreau)

Even though I have found my bed, I thought perhaps you might be in a position to look for one. In the midst of my full-fledged Wayfair bed search, I came across so many beautiful upholstered beds. The prices are relatively fair, if not extremely
well-priced, for these styles of beds and they are just so gorgeous. They
come in a range of colors, but I have picked out several neutral ones that I
am still gushing over... Whether you are actively searching for a new bed with the intent of purchasing one or just online-window-shopping, I hope you find a bed that becomes your oasis.

xo, IP.S. How many times can "bed" be in one post? In this case, about 26... "bed", "bed", "bed".